Endless screw rotor system, snowblower provided with such a system, kit for assembling the same, and corresponding methods of manufacturing, assembling and operating associated thereto

ABSTRACT

A snowblower for blowing snow, the snowblower comprising a propulsion assembly being operatively disposed about a fluid passage for propelling the snow. The snowblower also comprises a pallet assembly being operatively connected to the propulsion assembly for assisting in the propelling of the snow to be blown, the pallet assembly comprising at least one pallet component being rotatable about a main pivot axis, said at least one pallet component comprising base and distal components, the base component being mountable about the main pivot axis of the pallet assembly, and the distal component being made of a flexible material capable of elastic deformation, said distal component being further positioned, shaped and sized for allowing the passage of debris to pass by between a distal edge of the distal component and a complementary component of the fluid passage.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of snowblowers. Moreparticularly, the present invention relates to a new endless screw rotorsystem, and also relates to a snowblower provided with such a drivingsystem, as well as to a kit for assembling the same, and tocorresponding methods of manufacturing, assembling and/or operatingassociated thereto.

DESCRIPTION OF PRIOR ART

Known in the art is the technology developed by the Applicant of thepresent application, and covered by Canadian patent 2,240,436, grantedon May 23^(rd), 2000, in the name of CHAMPAGNE et al., and relating to a“retractable pivoting scraper blade for snow blower”. This documentdescribes namely a device for use with a snow blower being of the typehaving an auger, and allowing it to operate while moving backwards. Thedevice principally consists of a concave blade mounted on a snow blower,which pivots between an operative position where the blade extends closeto the ground and the concave surface of the blade extends in front ofthe auger in such a way that the blade scrapes the snow and directs ittowards the auger when the snow blower is lifted up to let the snow passunder it and moves backwards, and an inoperative position where theblade is raised to a height sufficient to let the snow reach the augerwhen the snow blower moves forwards. A snow blower equipped with adevice as defined above, for operating while moving backwards, is alsodisclosed as well as a method for blowing snow with a snowblowerequipped with that device. Although the device has been designed to fiton a removable snow blower mounted on a motorized vehicle, it could beadapted to any type of snow blower having an auger.

Also known in the art is the technology developed by the Applicant ofthe present application, and covered by Canadian patent 2,541,044,granted on Nov. 17^(th), 2015, in the name of CHAMPAGNE et al., andrelating to a “actuating assembly for actuating a chute of a snowblower,snowblower including the same and method of operating associatedthereto”. This document describes namely an actuating assembly foractuating a chute of a snowblower having a frame. The actuating assemblyincludes a first gear, a second gear and a driving mechanism. The firstgear is pivotably mountable onto the frame of the snowblower androtatable about a pivot axis, said first gear being configured foroperatively receiving thereon the chute of the snowblower. The secondgear is pivotably mountable onto the frame of the snowblower androtatable about a pivot axis different from the pivot axis of the firstgear, the second gear being operatively interconnectable with the firstgear so that a rotation of the second gear is transmitted to the firstgear and vice versa. The driving mechanism is used for driving thesecond gear in rotation so as to in turn drive the first gear andcorresponding chute operatively mounted thereon to rotate.

Also known in the art is the technology developed by the Applicant ofthe present application, and covered by Canadian patent CA 2,729,514,granted on May 14^(th), 2013, in the name of CHAMPAGNE et al., andrelating to an “inverted blower, vehicle equipped with such a blower,assembly kit, and corresponding assembly and operation methods”. Thisdocument describes namely an inverted snow blower, intended to bemounted at the rear of a traction vehicle equipped with a powertake-off, to blow snow. The snow blower features a housing configured toreceive the snow to be blown, the housing meant to be mounted at therear of the traction vehicle through a linkage system. The blower alsoincludes a snow chute, mounted operatively on the housing to dischargethe snow from the housing. The snow blower also includes an auger,mounted so that it pivots inside the housing and configured to drive thesnow from the housing towards the chute. The snow blower also includes agear box configured to receive a shaft from the traction vehicle's powertake-off. The gear box is connected operatively to the housing auger todrive the latter through a drive force supplied by the power take-offshaft, the gear box placed between the traction vehicle and the snowblower in order to reduce the momentum of the latter on the tractionvehicle. As a result, this blower is an advanced-center of gravity,inverted snow blower.

Also known in the art is the technology owned by the by the Applicant ofthe present application, and covered by U.S. Pat. No. 10,400,403 B2,granted on Sep. 3^(rd), 2019, in the name of MACKENZIE, and relating toa “deflector for a snow blower”. This document describes namely a snowdeflector for a snow blower is formed from a plate member. The platemember includes a first surface portion for being disposed covering aportion of a snow-receiving opening of a fan housing of the snow blower,and a second surface portion configured to cooperate with an adjacentrear interior surface of the snow blower to guide snow along a directionlaterally toward a predetermined target region of the snow-receivingopening that is after a discharge chute opening in the fan housing alonga direction of fan rotation. The snow is guided simultaneouslyvertically upward and longitudinally frontward. The first and secondsurface portions are disposed within respective first and second planesthat intersect one another along a common edge shared between the firstand second surface portions. The common edge being aligned generallytoward the predetermined target region when the plate member is in theinstalled condition.

Also known in the art are the snowblowers of type economical, commercialor industrial, conventional (FIG. 1-A), inverted (FIG. 1-B), providedwith an integrated scrapper (FIG. 1-C) or others, used with a carryingvehicle of the type farm tractor (FIG. 2-A & FIG. 2-B), articulatedloader (FIG. 2-C) or more compact motorized equipment, for example (FIG.2-C), provided with a three-point attachment system (1) or quickconnector (2) or other types of connectors, providing the power to saidsnowblower by means of a transmission shaft (3), or by hydraulic power(4) or others.

The type of snowblower best known in the prior art is the type that isattached to the back of a vehicle that backs up (FIG. 2-A), thus, pushedby a vehicle. The snowblower of type inverse also known in the prior art(FIG. 2-B) is attached to the back of a vehicle that advances, thus,pulled by a vehicle. The type of inverse snowblower is mostly sought inthe commercial sector for removing snow from residential entrances. Thistype of snowblowers enables to avoid the step of scraping the snow fromthe entrance before having to blow it. In comparison with the scrapper(well known by people skilled in the art), the snowblower of typeinverse requires a minimum distance between an obstacle and thebeginning of the cleaned zone (5). Three configurations of types ofinverse snowblowers are known in the prior art offering differentdistances of non-cleaning (see FIG. 3). A first configuration requiresthe greatest distance of non-cleaning. This distance (5A) is governed bythe gear box (6A) as well as the rotor (7A) of the snowblower that arelocated in line with the blade (8) and the rear extremity of thesnowblower. A second configuration also known in the art ischaracterised by a minimal distance of non-cleaning (5B) inferior to thefirst configuration but nevertheless non negligible. The reduceddistance of non-cleaning comes from the re-localization of the gear box(6B) to the front of the snowblower. Until now, the types of snowblowersdescribed have a standard and well known chronology of “phases”, thatis, that following the path of the snow with respect to the advancementof the snowblower, the auger is positioned before the rotor (7). In thecontext of the present patent specification, a “phase” is a mechanizedmanipulation of the snow. For example, the auger is a first phase thatdisplaces the snow towards the center, close to the main rotor. Asnowblower rotor is also a phase that accelerates the snow, given it thenecessary speed to be projected.

The third configuration (see FIG. 3) and in relation to the Patent(20899P0001US01) includes an order of phases which differ since therotor (7C) is placed in front of the auger (9). This type ofconfiguration will be named “inversed snowblower with three phases” inthe present patent specification. This configuration has the advantage,among other things, to greatly decrease further the distance ofnon-cleaning (5-C). Indeed, the fact that the auger (9) of thesnowblower is placed very close to the back of the snowblower and itsblade (8) be placed under the auger (9), reduces the distance of pickupat its minimum. Given that the rotor precedes the auger, the latter mustbe raised to avoid that it accumulates snow and that it obstructs thecenter of the endless screw. The distance between the ground and thebottom of the drum (casing of main rotor) (10) requires a supplementalfunction to the endless screw, either to propel the snow in the mainrotor that is raised. This supplemental function requires a rotor systemintegrated to the endless screw which is actually known in the art as athird phase.

Also known in the art are the problematics of the pallet system of anendless screw of a 3-phase snowblower.

Indeed, in order to be efficient, the distance between the tip of thepallets (11) (see FIG. 4) of the auger rotor and the wall that surroundsit, in proximity of the ejection of the snow should be as small aspossible. It is desirable that the distance diminishes between theadmission (12-A) and the ejection of the snow (13-A). Indeed, the augerrotor acts like a snow phase pump, this principle is well known in thefluid pumps for example or the ensilage snowblowers. Also, the mainrotor of certain snowblowers already use this principle. However, theadmission of snow of the endless screw rotor generates an angle ofentry, at the bottom of the frame, close to the blade (14-A), the partbeing the most exposed to debris. The debris being the most frequentlyencountered are small, crushed rocks having ¾″ or less and being oftenpresent in great numbers. They are therefore picked-up by the snowblowerand when they present themselves in the angle of entry (14-A), thisprovokes a blockage of the auger and will generate a given damage to thepower path of the snowblower.

The problem is not experienced by the main rotor of the snowblowersbecause the admission (12-B) of snow is axial and non radial.Furthermore, the angle of entry (14-B) between the tip of the pales ofthe main rotor and its intervening wall after the ejection (13-B) ofsnow (and of debris).

In this type of equipment, the auger is normally equipped with aprotection system called “shearing bolt”. This bolt is calibrated toshear when a blockage problem occurs. However, this situation should bekept seldom because the operator will be greatly slowed down by afrequent replacement of this bolt. It thus becomes very difficult toapproach the tip of the pallets of the auger more than ¾″ withoutcreating frequents failures of the shearing bolt.

Other constraints concerning the position of the tip of the pallets withrespect to the wall that surrounds them, the mechanical-weldedassembling of the components is not precise enough to enable to adistance (11) that is well-controlled without including a system ofposition adjustment of the axis of the auger. The main rotor of thesnowblower that is also mechanical-welded, includes a mechanicaladjustment, however, it would be difficult to reproduce for theassembling of the auger without adding complexity to the equipment.

According to these problematics, it would be very advantageous to beable to limit as much as possible the space between the tip of thepallets of the auger rotor in order to increase its efficiency whileensuring to not decrease the efficiency of operation by decreasing thereliability of the equipment that would increase the frequency ofjamming.

Indeed, it would be very useful to propose a solution in response to oneand/or several of the problems/inconveniences described above, becausedespite the improvements made over the years, there is still a need tocontinue to innovate and find better and/or different ways ofcommercialising snowblowers in a faster, simpler, more efficient, moreeconomical, more reliable, more adjustable, more versatile, moreadaptable, more durable, more environment-friendly, more desirable,and/or improved manner.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION:

An object of the present invention is therefore to provide a palletassembly (and/or corresponding auger rotor system) for a snowblower(and/or resulting snowblower provided with such a driving system), whichby virtue of its design and components, is intended to satisfy at leastone of the above-mentioned needs, and which would thus be an improvementover other related snowblowers and/or rotor systems known in the priorart.

The above main object is achieved, as will be better understood, by apallet assembly (and/or corresponding auger rotor system) for asnowblower (and/or resulting snowblower provided with such a drivingsystem), such as the one briefly described in the present description,and such as the one exemplified in the accompanying drawings.

As will be better understood when reviewing the present description andthe accompanying figures, and according to a possible embodiment, thepresent system relates to a configuration of auger rotor palletsintended to feed the main rotor of a snowblower.

More particularly, according to one aspect of the present invention, anobjective is to provided a snowblower for blowing snow, the snowblowercomprising:

a snow-intake assembly for intaking snow to be blown by the snowblower;

a snow-discharge assembly for discharging blown snow away from thesnowblower;

a fluid passage being defined between an inlet interface of thesnow-intake assembly and an outlet interface of the snow-dischargeassembly for allowing the snow to be blown by the snowblower to flowfrom the snow-intake assembly to the snow-discharge assembly thereof;

a propulsion assembly operatively disposed about the fluid passage forpropelling the snow to be blown from the snow-intake assembly to thesnow-discharge assembly along the fluid passage; and

a pallet assembly being operatively connected to the propulsion assemblyfor assisting in the propelling of the snow to be blown from thesnow-intake assembly to the snow-discharge assembly via the fluidpassage, the pallet assembly comprising at least one pallet componentbeing rotatable about a main pivot axis, said at least one palletcomponent comprising base and distal components, the base componentbeing mountable about the main pivot axis of the pallet assembly, andthe distal component being made of non-metallic flexible materialcapable of elastic deformation, said distal component being furtherpositioned, shaped and sized for allowing the passage of debris to passby between a distal edge of the distal component and a complementarycomponent of the fluid passage.

Other aspect(s), objective(s), embodiment(s), variant(s) and/oradvantages(s) of the present invention, all being preferred and/oroptional, are briefly described hereinbelow.

For example, and more particularly, according to another aspect of thepresent invention, the latter also relates to a configuration of apallet system (and/or of corresponding auger system) for an invertedsnowblower of the type three phases enabling to reduce the space betweenthe distal edge of the auger rotor pallets while diminishing the risksof having debris getting blocked between the auger pallets and the wallthat surrounds them, thus, in doing so, enabling to increase theefficiency of the snowblower.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is alsoprovided an auger rotor pallet with a flexible distal end.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is alsoprovided an adjustment system of the auger rotor pallet with flexibledistal end.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is alsoprovided a snowblower provided with the above-mentioned pallet system(and/or corresponding auger rotor system).

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is alsoprovided a vehicle provided with the above-mentioned snowblower.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is alsoprovided a set of components meant to be assembled for forming theabove-mentioned pallet system (and/or corresponding auger rotor system).

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is alsoprovided a set of components for interchanging (ex. replacing,procuring, etc.) with components of the above-mentioned set ofcomponents.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is alsoprovided a method of assembling components of the above-mentionedset(s).

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is alsoprovided a method of manufacturing one and/or the other of thecomponents being part of the above-mentioned pallet system (and/orcorresponding auger rotor system).

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method of assembling components of the above-mentioned pallet system(and/or corresponding auger rotor system).

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is alsoprovided a method of operating the above-mentioned pallet system (and/orcorresponding auger rotor system).

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is alsoprovided a method of doing business with the above-mentioned palletsystem (and/or corresponding auger rotor system), snowblower, vehicle,certain component(s) thereof, set(s) and/or method(s)

The objects, advantages, and other features of the present inventionwill become more apparent upon reading of the following non-restrictivedescription of preferred embodiments thereof, given for the purpose ofexemplification only, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ENCLOSED DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1-5B represent different views, components and/or features ofpossible embodiments of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF POSSIBLE AND/OR PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

In the following description, the same numerical references refer tosimilar elements. The embodiments (ex. geometrical configurations,dimensions, materials, etc.) illustrated in the figures and the featuresdescribed in patent specification are preferred only, given forexemplification purposes only.

Moreover, although the present invention was primarily designed forremoving snow and for use with an auger of a snowblower, for example,the invention may be used with any other analogous object, as apparentto a person skilled in the art. For this reason, expressions such as“snow removal”, “snow”, “snowblower”, “auger”, etc., as used hereinand/or any other reference and/or expression equivalent or similar tothese expressions should not be taken so as to limit the scope of thepresent invention and include any other kind of object/substitute and/orany other application with which the present invention could be used andmay be useful, as apparent to a person skilled in the art.

In addition, although the preferred embodiments of the system asillustrated in the accompanying drawings comprise various components,not all of these components are essential to the invention and thusshould not be taken in their restrictive sense, i.e. should not be takenso as to limit the scope of the present invention. It is to beunderstood, as also apparent to a person skilled in the art, that othersuitable components and geometries and/or other suitable cooperationsthereinbetween may be used for the system according to the presentinvention, as will be briefly explained herein, without departing fromthe scope of the present invention.

Moreover, expressions such as “system”, “snowblower”, “vehicle”,“device”, “assembly”, “mechanism”, “product”, “equipment”, etc., as wellas any other equivalent expression(s) and/or compound word(s), may beused interchangeably in the context of the present description, asapparent to a person skilled in the art. This applies also for any othermutually equivalent expressions, such as “component”, “tool” and“accessory”, or “front” and “upstream”, or “rear” and “downstream”, asapparent to a person skilled in the art.

Furthermore, in the context of the present description, it will beconsidered that all elongated objects will have an implicit“longitudinal axis” and/or a “centerline”, such as the longitudinal axisof shaft, for example, or the centerline of a coiled spring, and thatexpressions such as “connected” and “connectable”, or “pivoting” and“pivotable”, may be interchangeable and are mutually equivalent, in thatthe present invention also relates to a kit with correspondingcomponents for assembling a resulting fully-assembled andfully-operational snowblower for carrying out the present method and/orobtaining any resulting and/or derived result.

Moreover, certain components of the present system and/or steps of thepresent method(s) (ex. manufacturing, assembling, operating, etc.) beingdescribed herein could be modified, simplified, omitted and/orinterchanged, without departing from the scope of the present invention,depending on the particular application(s) which the present inventionis intended for, and the desired end result(s), as briefly exemplifiedherein and as also apparent to a person skilled in the art.

Broadly described, and according to a possible embodiment of the presentinvention, as illustrated in the accompanying figures, the presentinvention relates to a new pallet system (and/or corresponding endlessscrew system) for a snowblower, and more particularly, relates to aconfiguration of pallets on a endless auger rotor intended to feed themain rotor of a snowblower.

The present pallet system may take on various forms and/or expressions,including one and/or several of the following possible components andfeatures (and/or different possible combination(s) and/or permutation(s)thereof), given as possible preferential and/or optional embodiment(s)only:

1. A snowblower (1) for blowing snow, the snowblower (1) comprising: asnow-intake assembly (3) for intaking snow to be blown by the snowblower(1);

a snow-discharge assembly (5) for discharging blown snow away from thesnowblower (1);

a fluid passage (7) being defined between an inlet interface (9) of thesnow-intake assembly (3) and an outlet interface (11) of thesnow-discharge assembly (5) for allowing the snow to be blown by thesnowblower (1) to flow from the snow-intake assembly (3) to thesnow-discharge assembly (5) thereof;

a propulsion assembly (13) operatively disposed about the fluid passage(7) for propelling the snow to be blown from the snow-intake assembly(3) to the snow-discharge assembly (5) along the fluid passage (7); and

a pallet assembly (15) being operatively connected to the propulsionassembly (13) for assisting in the propelling of the snow to be blownfrom the snow-intake assembly (3) to the snow-discharge assembly (5) viathe fluid passage (7), the pallet assembly (15) comprising at least onepallet component (17) being rotatable about a main pivot axis (19), saidat least one pallet component (17) comprising base and distal components(17 a,17 b), the base component (17 a) being mountable about the mainpivot axis (19) of the pallet assembly (15), and the distal component(17 b) being made of a flexible material capable of elastic deformation,said distal component (17 b) being further positioned, shaped and sizedfor allowing the passage of debris to pass by between a distal edge (21)of the distal component (17 b) and a complementary component (23) of thefluid passage (7).

2. A snowblower (1) according to any one of the precedingcombination(s), wherein the base and distal components (17 a,17 b) ofthe at least one pallet component (17) are separate and distinctcomponents.

3. A snowblower (1) according to any one of the precedingcombination(s), wherein the distal component (17 b) of the at least onepallet component (17) is removably mountable onto the base component (17a) of said at least one pallet component (17).

4. A snowblower (1) according to any one of the precedingcombination(s), wherein the base component (17 a) of the at least onepallet component (17) has a coefficient of elastic deformation that isstiffer than a coefficient of elastic deformation of the distalcomponent (17 b) of said at least one pallet component (17).

5. A snowblower (1) according to any one of the precedingcombination(s), wherein the base component (17 a) of the at least onepallet component (17) is fixedly connectable to a drivable axle beingrotatable about the main pivot axis (19) of the pallet assembly (15).

6. A snowblower (1) according to any one of the precedingcombination(s), wherein the snow-intake assembly (3) comprises asnow-intake box (25), the snow-intake box (25) being provided with anendless screw (27) being positioned, shaped and sized for urging snowtowards an interface (29) between the snow-intake assembly (3) and thesnow-discharge assembly (5), the endless screw (27) being rotatablealong with a main pivoting axle (31) of the snow-intake box (25), andwherein the base component (17 a) of the at least one pallet component(17) is fixedly connectable to said main pivoting axle (31) of thesnow-intake box (25) of the snow-intake assembly (3).

7. A snowblower (1) according to any one of the precedingcombination(s), wherein the base component (17 a) of the at least onepallet component (17) is made of a metallic material.

8. A snowblower (1) according to any one of the precedingcombination(s), wherein the base component (17 a) of the at least onepallet component (17) is welded onto the main pivoting axle (31) of thesnow-intake box (25) of the snow-intake assembly (3).

9. A snowblower (1) according to any one of the precedingcombination(s), wherein the distal component (17 b) the at least onepallet component (17) is made of a non-metallic material.

10. A snowblower (1) according to any one of the precedingcombination(s), wherein the distal component (17 b) of the at least onepallet component (17) is removably mountable onto the base component (17a) of said at least one pallet component (17) via a correspondingfastening assembly (33).

11. A snowblower (1) according to any one of the precedingcombination(s), wherein the corresponding fastening assembly (33)comprises at least one fastener (35) extending through a pair ofcomplementary holes (37) each being provided about the base and distalcomponents (17 a,17 b) respectively.

12. A snowblower (1) according to any one of the precedingcombination(s), wherein the at least one fastener (35) comprises a pairof fasteners (35).

13. A snowblower (1) according to any one of the precedingcombination(s), wherein each fastener (35) includes a bolt (39) and acorresponding nut (41).

14. A snowblower (1) according to any one of the precedingcombination(s), wherein each hole (37) is oblong so as to enable aneffective length of the at least one pallet component (17) to beselectively adjusted by a user of the snowblower (1).

15. A snowblower (1) according to any one of the precedingcombination(s), wherein each hole (37) of the distal component (17 b) isfurther positioned, shaped and sized so as to enable a variation of theeffective length of the at least one pallet component (17) between about19 mm and about 25 mm.

16. A snowblower (1) according to any one of the precedingcombination(s), wherein the at least one pallet component (17) comprisesa supporting component (43) for supporting a back portion of the distalcomponent (17 b) of said at least one pallet component (17) during anoperational bending of the distal component (17 b).

17. A snowblower (1) according to any one of the precedingcombination(s), wherein the supporting component (43) of the at leastone pallet component (17) includes a curved portion (45) for receivingand supporting the back portion of the distal component (17 b) of saidat least one pallet component (17) during an operational bending of thedistal component (17 b).

18. A snowblower (1) according to any one of the precedingcombination(s), wherein the supporting component (43) of the at leastone pallet component (17) is a substantially L-shaped supportingcomponent, and wherein an elbow portion of said L-shaped supportingcomponent includes the curved portion (45) for receiving and supportingthe back portion of the distal component (17 b) of said at least onepallet component (17) during an operational bending of the distalcomponent (17 b).

19. A snowblower (1) according to any one of the precedingcombination(s), wherein the supporting component (43) of the at leastone pallet component (17) includes a hole (37) for receiving acorresponding bolt (39) of the at least one fastener (35) of thecorresponding fastening assembly (33).

20. A snowblower (1) according to any one of the precedingcombination(s), wherein the hole (37) of the supporting component (43)of the at least one pallet component (17) is substantially circular.

21. A snowblower (1) according to any one of the precedingcombination(s), wherein the at least one pallet component (17) comprisesa plurality of pallet components (17) having n pallet components, with nbeing an integer greater than 1.

22. A snowblower (1) according to any one of the precedingcombination(s), wherein each of the plurality of pallet components (17)projects radially outwardly away from the main pivot axis (19) of thepallet assembly (15).

23. A snowblower (1) according to any one of the precedingcombination(s), wherein each of the plurality of pallet components (17)are disposed equidistantly from one another about the main pivot axis(19).

24. A snowblower (1) according to any one of the precedingcombination(s), wherein the pallet assembly (15) comprises at least onereinforcement component (47) provided between at least one pair ofsequential pallet components (17).

25. A snowblower (1) according to any one of the precedingcombination(s), wherein the pallet assembly (15) comprises at least onereinforcement component (47) provided between each pair of sequentialpallet components (17).

26. A snowblower (1) according to any one of the precedingcombination(s), wherein the at least one reinforcement component (47)has a substantially triangular profile with a portion being positioned,shaped and sized for receiving a complementary portion of a rotatingshaft of the snowblower (1).

27. A snowblower (1) according to any one of the precedingcombination(s), wherein each pallet components (17) has a substantiallyrectangular profile.

28. A snowblower (1) according to any one of the precedingcombination(s), wherein each pallet component (17) comprises at leastone hole (37) being positioned, shaped and sized for receiving acorresponding bolt (39) of the at least one fastener (35) of thecorresponding fastening assembly (33).

29. A snowblower (1) according to any one of the precedingcombination(s), wherein said at least one hole (37) of each palletcomponent (17) comprises a pair of holes (37).

30. A snowblower (1) according to any one of the precedingcombination(s), wherein said pair of holes (37) of each pallet component(17) defines an imaginary line being substantially parallel to thedistal edge (21) of the pallet corresponding component (17).

31. A snowblower (1) according to any one of the precedingcombination(s), wherein each base component (17 a) of each palletcomponent (17) has a substantially rectangular profile.

32. A snowblower (1) according to any one of the precedingcombination(s), wherein each base component (17 a) comprises at leastone hole (37) being positioned, shaped and sized for receiving acorresponding bolt (39) of the at least one fastener (35) of thecorresponding fastening assembly (33).

33. A snowblower (1) according to any one of the precedingcombination(s), wherein said at least one hole (37) of each palletcomponent (17) comprises a pair of holes (37).

34. A snowblower (1) according to any one of the precedingcombination(s), wherein said pair of holes (37) of each pallet component(17) defines an imaginary line being substantially parallel to thedistal edge (21) of the pallet corresponding component (17).

35. A snowblower (1) according to any one of the precedingcombination(s), wherein each base component (17 a) of each palletcomponent (17) has a substantially rectangular profile.

36. A snowblower (1) according to any one of the precedingcombination(s), wherein each base component (17 a) comprises at leastone hole (37) being positioned, shaped and sized for receiving acorresponding bolt (39) of the at least one fastener (35) of thecorresponding fastening assembly (33).

37. A snowblower (1) according to any one of the precedingcombination(s), wherein the distal component (17 b) of the at least onepallet component (17) is made of a polymeric material.

38. A snowblower (1) according to any one of the precedingcombination(s), wherein a rear rim of the distal component (17 b) of theat least one pallet component (17) is provided with a chamfer (49) forproviding said the distal component (17 b) with an additional rearwardclearance during an operation and corresponding rotation of the at leastone pallet component (17) with respect to the complementary component(23) of the fluid passage (7).

39. A kit with corresponding components for assembling a snowblower (1)according to any one of the preceding combination(s).

40. A pallet assembly (15) for use with a snowblower (1) according toany one of the preceding combination(s), the pallet assembly (15) beingoperatively connectable to the propulsion assembly (13) of thesnowblower (1) for assisting in the propelling of the snow to be blownfrom the snow-intake assembly (5) to the snow-discharge assembly (5) viathe fluid passage (7), the pallet assembly (15) comprising at least onepallet component (17) being rotatable about a main pivot axis (19), saidat least one pallet component (17) comprising base and distal components(17a,17 b), the base component (17 a) being mountable about the mainpivot axis (19) of the pallet assembly (15), and the distal component(17 b) being made of non-metallic flexible material capable of elasticdeformation, said distal component (17 b) being further positioned,shaped and sized for allowing the passage of debris to pass by between adistal edge (21) of the distal component (17 b) and a complementarycomponent (23) of the fluid passage (7).

41. A kit with corresponding components for assembling a pallet assemblyaccording to any one of the preceding combination(s).

Other possible aspect(s), object(s), embodiment(s), variant(s) and/oradvantage(s) of the present invention, all being preferential and/oroptional, are briefly summarized hereinbelow.

Indeed, and as mentioned previously, according to one aspect of thepresent invention, it relates to a configuration of a pallet system(and/or corresponding endless screw system) for an inverse snowblower ofthe type three phases, enabling to reduce the space between the ends ofthe pallets of the auger rotor while reducing the risks of having debrisgetting stuck between the pallets of the endless screw and the wall thatsurrounds it, thus, in doing so, increases the efficiency of thesnowblower.

The present invention relates also to snowblowers provided with such asystem, to vehicles capable of operating such snowblowers, to a methodof manufacturing and of assembling of these components, etc. Namely, thepresent invention relates also to a kit with components meant to beassembled and/or to carry out the present system, as well as tocorresponding methods of assembling, operating and use associatedthereto.

The reading of the following paragraphs, along with reference to thedrawings, will enable to better understand how the advantages mentionedare associated to the technical novelties of the invention.

Namely, in order to obtain a mounting of the tip of the pallets atproximity of the wall that surrounds them and to avoid repetitive risksof failure of the shearing bolt, two methods have been used. Firstly, asupplemental clearance (15) (see FIG. 5-A) has been integrated to thetip of the metal pallets in order to distance them by a sufficientdistance to enable to allow rocks of ¾″ (approximately) and less to passfreely. Even though this distance may vary according to the conditionsof use, the preferred embodiment is of about 1″. Afterwards, in order tomake up for this space, rubber pallets (16) are placed at the back ofeach of the steel pallets. This rubber should have a sufficientresistance to bending in order to displace the snow without bending toomuch and a sufficient flexibility for allowing to pass through a pebblethat would otherwise get stuck (17), and this, at temperatures rangingbetween 0 degree Celsius (approximately) until −40 degrees Celsius(approximately). Also, given that snow is often mixed with sand orde-icing products, the rubber must have a good resistance to abrasivesand to different de-icing products. In order to obtain the goodflexibility for allowing to pass a pebble of ¾″, for example, a rubberof 85 Duro combined with nylon fiber and a thickness of ½″(approximately) has been retained in the preferred embodiment.

Also, a steel support (18) (see FIG. 5-B) has been added to the back ofthe rubber pallet, enabling a securing of the flexible section (16) withbolts (19) while distributing the tightening pressure. This supportincludes an elbow providing it with a rigidity and also provides at thesame time a non-cutting contact formed by the radius of the elbow. Thisrounded contact (2) (see FIG. 5-A) enables to avoid damaging the rubberwhen it rests against the back of the plate during bending.

To enable an individual adjustment of the proximity of the tip of eachof the pallets, an oblong form (21) has been added to the two securingholes of the flexible pallets. Even though 85 Duro rubber combined withnylon fiber and a thickness of ½″ has been retained, any other materialoffering similar properties and advantages and any other thickness iscovered by the present invention. Indeed, several materials would beeligible for the flexible part of the pallet, mainly in the category ofpolymeric materials. Thermoplastic polymers flexible at low temperature,elastomers and/or any other type of rubber being flexible in NorthAmerican winter temperatures (0 to −40° C.) (approximately), compositematerials including a flexible matrix and a reinforcement for a betterresistance. The thickness of the flexible part is selected according tothe rigidity of the material chosen. The greater the material isflexible, the greater its thickness should be.

Furthermore, variants on the features described for the adjustment, thepositioning, the securing and/or others, are contemplated by the presentinvention.

Concerning possible embodiments for the pallet with flexible extremity,its methods of adjustment or of securing, several integrating methodsare compatible for the invention. For example, the making of a uniformpallet in two materials can be done by molding flexible materialdirectly onto the extremity of a steel pallet that would containanchoring forms for a solid and uniform joint combined to an adjustmentof proximity of the pallet with the belt.

It is to be noted that the addition of the pallet with flexible andadjustable extremity, to the concept of inverse snowblower of type threephase, is an improvement of the operational efficiency and reliability.In other words, the flexible pallet enables to increase the efficiencyby reducing the play by the extension of the pallets with a flexiblesection that is not likely to break when coming across groundimperfections (22) (see FIG. 4) and/or debris stuck between the tip ofthe pallet and the wall that surrounds it.

Finally, and according to the present invention, the snowblower and itscorresponding parts are preferably made of substantially rigidmaterials, such as metallic materials (stainless steel, etc.), hardenedpolymers, composite materials, and/or any other appropriate material,whereas the other components (ex. pallet(s), etc.) of the systemaccording to the present invention, in order to obtain the advantagesdiscussed above, could be made of any other material, such as polymericmaterials (ex. plastic, rubber, etc.), and/or any other suitablematerial, depending on the particular applications for which the systemis intended for and the different parameters in cause, as apparent to aperson skilled in the art.

Although the present invention has been previously explained by way ofpreferred embodiments, it is to be understood that any modification tothese preferred embodiments is not considered changing or altering thenature and the scope of the present invention. Indeed, the scope of theenclosed claim(s) should not be limited by the preferred embodiments setforth in the examples, but should be given the broadest interpretationconsistent with the description as a whole.

1. A snowblower for blowing snow, the snowblower comprising: asnow-intake assembly for intaking snow to be blown by the snowblower; asnow-discharge assembly for discharging blown snow away from thesnowblower; a fluid passage being defined between an inlet interface ofthe snow-intake assembly and an outlet interface of the snow-dischargeassembly for allowing the snow to be blown by the snowblower to flowfrom the snow-intake assembly to the snow-discharge assembly thereof; apropulsion assembly operatively disposed about the fluid passage forpropelling the snow to be blown from the snow-intake assembly to thesnow-discharge assembly along the fluid passage; and a pallet assemblybeing operatively connected to the propulsion assembly for assisting inpropelling of the snow to be blown from the snow-intake assembly to thesnow-discharge assembly via the fluid passage, the pallet assemblycomprising at least one pallet component being rotatable about a mainpivot axis, said at least one pallet component comprising base anddistal components, the base component being mountable about the mainpivot axis of the pallet assembly, and the distal component being madeof a flexible material capable of elastic deformation, said distalcomponent being further positioned, shaped and sized for allowingpassage of debris to pass by between a distal edge of the distalcomponent and a complementary component of the fluid passage.
 2. Asnowblower according to claim 1, wherein the base and distal componentsof the at least one pallet component are separate and distinctcomponents.
 3. A snowblower according to claim 2, wherein the distalcomponent of the at least one pallet component is removably mountableonto the base component of said at least one pallet component.
 4. Asnowblower according to claim 1, wherein the base component of the atleast one pallet component has a coefficient of elastic deformation thatis stiffer than a coefficient of elastic deformation of the distalcomponent of said at least one pallet component.
 5. A snowbloweraccording to claim 1, wherein the base component of the at least onepallet component is fixedly connectable to a drivable axle beingrotatable about the main pivot axis of the pallet assembly; and whereinthe snow-intake assembly comprises a snow-intake box, the snow-intakebox being provided with an endless screw being positioned, shaped andsized for urging snow towards an interface between the snow-intakeassembly and the snow-discharge assembly, the endless screw beingrotatable along with a main pivoting axle of the snow-intake box, andwherein the base component of the at least one pallet component isfixedly connectable to said main pivoting axle of the snow-intake box ofthe snow-intake assembly.
 6. A snowblower according to claim 1, whereinthe base component of the at least one pallet component is made of ametallic material; wherein the base component of the at least one palletcomponent is welded onto the main pivoting axle of the snow-intake boxof the snow-intake assembly; and wherein the distal component the atleast one pallet component is made of a non-metallic material.
 7. Asnowblower according to claim 1, wherein the distal component of the atleast one pallet component is removably mountable onto the basecomponent of said at least one pallet component via a correspondingfastening assembly.
 8. A snowblower according to claim 6, wherein thecorresponding fastening assembly comprises at least one fastenerextending through a pair of complementary holes each being providedabout the base and distal components respectively; wherein the at leastone fastener comprises a pair of fasteners; and wherein each fastenerincludes a bolt and a corresponding nut.
 9. A snowblower according toclaim 8, wherein each hole is oblong so as to enable an effective lengthof the at least one pallet component to be selectively adjusted by auser of the snowblower; and wherein each hole of the distal component isfurther positioned, shaped and sized so as to enable a variation of theeffective length of the at least one pallet component between about 19mm and about 25 mm.
 10. A snowblower according to claim 1, wherein theat least one pallet component comprises a supporting component forsupporting a back portion of the distal component of said at least onepallet component during an operational bending of the distal component.11. A snowblower according to claim 10, wherein the supporting componentof the at least one pallet component includes a curved portion forreceiving and supporting the back portion of the distal component ofsaid at least one pallet component during an operational bending of thedistal component.
 12. A snowblower according to claim 11, wherein thesupporting component of the at least one pallet component is asubstantially L-shaped supporting component, and wherein an elbowportion of said L-shaped supporting component includes the curvedportion for receiving and supporting the back portion of the distalcomponent of said at least one pallet component during an operationalbending of the distal component wherein the supporting component of theat least one pallet component includes a hole for receiving acorresponding bolt of the at least one fastener of the correspondingfastening assembly; and wherein the hole of the supporting component ofthe at least one pallet component is substantially circular.
 13. Asnowblower according to claim 1, wherein the at least one palletcomponent comprises a plurality of pallet components having n palletcomponents, with n being an integer greater than 1; wherein each of theplurality of pallet components projects radially outwardly away from themain pivot axis of the pallet assembly; and wherein each of theplurality of pallet components are disposed equidistantly from oneanother about the main pivot axis.
 14. A snowblower according to claim13, wherein the pallet assembly comprises at least one reinforcementcomponent provided between at least one pair of sequential palletcomponents; wherein the pallet assembly comprises at least onereinforcement component provided between each pair of sequential palletcomponents; and wherein the at least one reinforcement component has asubstantially triangular profile with a portion being positioned, shapedand sized for receiving a complementary portion of a rotating shaft ofthe snowblower.
 15. A snowblower according to claim 1, wherein eachpallet component has a substantially rectangular profile; wherein eachpallet component comprises at least one hole being positioned, shapedand sized for receiving a corresponding bolt of the at least onefastener of the corresponding fastening assembly; wherein said at leastone hole of each pallet component comprises a pair of holes; whereinsaid pair of holes of each pallet component defines an imaginary linebeing substantially parallel to the distal edge of the pallet component;wherein each base component of each pallet component has a substantiallyrectangular profile; and wherein each base component comprises at leastone hole being positioned, shaped and sized for receiving acorresponding bolt of the at least one fastener of the correspondingfastening assembly; wherein said at least one hole of each palletcomponent comprises a pair of holes; wherein said pair of holes of eachpallet component defines an imaginary line being substantially parallelto the distal edge of the pallet component; wherein each base componentof each pallet component has a substantially rectangular profile; andwherein each base component comprises at least one hole beingpositioned, shaped and sized for receiving a corresponding bolt of theat least one fastener of the corresponding fastening assembly,
 16. Asnowblower according to claim 1, wherein the distal component of the atleast one pallet component is made of a polymeric material.
 17. Asnowblower according to claim 1, wherein a rear rim of the distalcomponent of the at least one pallet component is provided with achamfer for providing said the distal component with an additionalrearward clearance during an operation and corresponding rotation of theat least one pallet component with respect to the complementarycomponent of the fluid passage.
 18. A kit with corresponding componentsfor assembling a snowblower according to claim
 1. 19. A pallet assemblyfor use with a snowblower according to claim 1, the pallet assemblybeing operatively connectable to the propulsion assembly of thesnowblower for assisting in the propelling of the snow to be blown fromthe snow-intake assembly to the snow-discharge assembly via the fluidpassage, the pallet assembly comprising at least one pallet componentbeing rotatable about a main pivot axis, said at least one palletcomponent comprising base and distal components, the base componentbeing mountable about the main pivot axis of the pallet assembly, andthe distal component being made of non-metallic flexible materialcapable of elastic deformation, said distal component being furtherpositioned, shaped and sized for allowing the passage of debris to passby between a distal edge of the distal component and a complementarycomponent of the fluid passage.
 20. A kit with corresponding componentsfor assembling a pallet assembly according to claim 19.